Actually, the name wouldn't do it justice. It was only a halfback pitch, reverse, wide receiver option pass back to the quarterback that was deflected by the defense and apparently caught at the back of the end zone by another wide receiver.

As it turns out, it was simply The Great Escape for the shell-shocked Huskies.

22-17 before a crowd of 33,810 fans at Rentschler Field. But the Huskies (3-0) weren't safe until Temple misfired on a fourth-and-6 from the 11-yard line with 40 seconds to play in the game.

The dramatic trick play started when quarterback Adam DiMichele pitched to Jason Harper while the running back was sprinting to his right. Harper then handed the ball off to receiver Dy'Onne Crudup on a reverse. Crudup stopped his run to the left and heaved the ball back in DiMichele's direction.

UConn safety Robert Vaughn out-leaped DiMichele to get a hand on the pass but it deflected toward Temple wide receiver Bruce Francis as he ran along the back of the end zone. Francis appeared to plant his left foot inbounds just as he cradled the tipped ball.

"I wanted the interception to just end the game there," said Vaughn, who earlier in the fourth quarter had stopped a key Temple drive with a pick. "It didn't work out that way."

The on-field officials, specifically back judge Larry Orrico, ruled the pass incomplete. After a review by replay official Jack Cramer, the call on the field stood.

"I just saw the video. He's in. I don't know what to say," Temple coach Al Golden said. "The kid (Francis) told me he was in and the guys upstairs said he was in. We've got everybody in our families calling us on our cell phones now telling us he was in."

Referee Tony McCabe, who led the Mid-American Conference officials, refused to comment on the call when asked after the game. Nick Carparelli, an associate commissioner in the Big East Conference, did talk to Cramer -- a Big East employee -- and explained his decision.

"Jack Cramer did not feel there was enough video evidence to overturn the call on the field," said Carparelli, explaining that replay officials are taught to overturn obvious mistakes. "In this case they did not think this was an obvious mistake."

The final play overshadowed a strong effort by Temple (0-3), which entered the game having lost 25 of its last 26. After gaining just 141 yards of total offense last week in a loss to Buffalo, the Owls amassed 332 against UConn.

"I told them on Tuesday 'This team's coming in here fired up. They're going to give you the game of their lives,'" said UConn coach Randy Edsall, who added that his team "got lucky".

"But they're kids. They go out on campus and people are patting on them back, saying 'You're 2-0. Don't worry about Temple. You'll be 3-0 going to Pittsburgh.'"

Looking only at the game's first two drives, it appeared the fans were right and UConn was in for an easy win.

Temple lost three yards on the first play of the afternoon and 14 more on the second play, both thanks to tackles by UConn defensive end Julius Williams. When the Huskies took possession for the first time they marched into the end zone in just seven plays. Donald Brown's 8-yard run put the home team ahead 7-0 with 9:37 left in the first quarter. Ciaravino made it 10-0 with a 47-yard field goal on UConn's next drive.

"Once we got up by 10, we started letting down a little bit," UConn defensive tackle Dan Davis said.

But Temple, which looked awful in a 42-7 loss to Buffalo the week before, did not crumble.

The Huskies led 13-7 at the break but quarterback Tyler Lorenzen (19-of-29, 222 yards) fumbled on UConn's opening possession of the second half and Temple took immediate advantage. A 31-yard reverse by Travis Shelton led to a 13-yard scamper by Harper that gave Temple a 14-13 lead.

The teams traded field goals before Brown put the Huskies ahead 22-17 with 14:54 to play in the game. UConn's two-point conversion failed, setting the stage for Temple's dramatic final drive.